


Candle in the Wind

by myglassesaredirty



Series: Spencer Family Escapades [4]
Category: Psych
Genre: 80s music festival, A little, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Double Dating, F/M, but i fully enjoyed it actually, but like, i busted this entire thing out this morning bc i have to be at college tomorrow, i woke up EARLY for this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 10:16:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19105090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myglassesaredirty/pseuds/myglassesaredirty
Summary: Maddy and Henry are engaged for the second time, and Henry wants to give Maddy the most special date of all, and how else to make it more special than to invite their son and his girlfriend along?





	Candle in the Wind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RobinsonsWereHere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinsonsWereHere/gifts).



> Happy birthday, Julie!!! I hope you enjoy!!

Shawn likes to hide whenever his parents are doing anything.

 

Now, when he says this, he means things like holding hands, looping one arm through the other’s, kissing, and basically any sort of PDA. He’s been doing this ever since he was a kid. It always grossed him out to see his parents, two old people, showing each other affection. It’s sweet, but it’s gross.

 

It’s even worse now that he’s…

 

Now that he’s…

 

Now that he’s walked in on his parents having sex.

 

He’s come to terms with it, now. He had to sit down and realize that his mom had moved back in – not moved back in until his dad got better, she  _ moved back in. _ Like, permanently. Forever. His parents went bedroom shopping. He knows because he and Jules ran into them at Carter’s.

 

Shawn opens the fridge door, grabs a can of pineapple juice, and hops onto the kitchen counter, where he is unable to see his parents. The garage door opens and Jules walks in, a picture of beauty and grace and everything good in this world.

 

She smiles softly at him and sets her hand down on his knee. “Shawn, what’s wrong?”

 

He takes a swig of pineapple juice. “It’s my parents.”

 

Juliet furrows her brow and steps directly in front of him. She’s always been shorter than him, even in heels, but she’s even shorter now, now that he’s sitting on the kitchen counter. “What about them, Shawn?”

 

He shrugs and fiddles with the sash on her sundress. “It’s nothing bad, Jules. It’s just that they’re…being affectionate.”

 

She blinks. “They’re being affectionate.”

 

He nods. “Yes! That’s the issue.”

 

She sighs and tugs at her ponytail. “Shawn, they’re engaged for the second time. I think they’re entitled to show a  _ little _ bit of PDA. All your parents have done this entire night is hold hands.”

 

Shawn licks his lips and sets his can of pineapple juice down on the counter. His dad would kill him if he saw he wasn’t using a coaster. “It’s just…it’s weird, you know? Like, I’ve only known them married and divorced, and now they’re  _ engaged? _ And I’m going to be my dad’s best man? Me. His son. Who is twenty-three years younger than him.”

 

Juliet purses her lips and places both hands on his shoulders. “Shawn, please tell me you’ve at least thought about the double date your parents proposed.”

 

He huffs and runs a hand through his hair. “Of course I’ve thought about it! They’re luring me in with promises of an 80s music festival.” He stares seriously at her. “You know I can’t refuse that.”

 

She smiles softly at him and pecks his lips. “I know you can’t, babe. But can you tell your parents that? I’m not their biological child.”

 

He rolls his eyes, hops off the counter, and kisses her. “I shall. But first, can I just say: you look amazing in that dress.”

 

Juliet grins, her nose wrinkling just slightly. “You think so?” she asks. “It’s just a sundress, it’s not like it’s any– you know, any Red Carpet kind of dress, and I’m really not sure white is my color –”

 

Shawn squeezes her shoulders. “Jules. You look amazing. Stunning, really. Like God looked down from the heavens, decided there wasn’t enough beauty in the world, and created you to amend that.”

 

She blushes. “You’re such a flirt.”

 

He leans closer to her, his lips brushing against her ear. “I think the proper term for it is truth-teller. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world. My brain doesn’t always work when I’m around you.”

 

She steps back a bit and crosses her arms. “Oh, yeah? Like when? Give me one example.”

 

Shawn holds up one hand and starts ticking off his fingers. “Taking out a perp, slamming said perp into a wall, you wearing my clothes, you dancing around the kitchen in nothing but my shirt and socks while singing karaoke into a water bottle, and you putting your head on my chest when you sleep.”

 

She blushes again. “You know I love you, right?”

 

He smiles. “I do. And I love you very much, too.”

 

*

 

While Shawn hides for cover inside, Henry attempts to grill.

 

The key word here is  _ attempts. _

 

As it stands now, he’s so enamored by Madeleine.

 

She dressed casually today, though not quite at the level of wearing his clothes. Instead, she wears a full-length sundress: light blue with white polka dots. She leans against the side of the house, staring out at the ocean. A few kids run by the front yard.

 

He feels someone nudge him, and when he blinks back to reality, Madeleine is smiling softly at him. “You know, you should probably turn the grill  _ on. _ It usually helps with the grilling process.”

 

He shakes his head fondly and turns on the switch. “Sorry, it’s just that you look so beautiful.”

 

She pulls the glass of lemonade to her lips but doesn’t take a drink yet. Her eyes dance, and she raises her eyebrows. “Oh? Would one – specifically you – say I look like a goddess?”

 

Henry laughs softly and pulls her closer to himself. “Always.”

 

She lowers the glass and lets him kiss her.

 

She missed the way he kisses her. It’s not always a heated kiss, like when they were young and in their early twenties. Those days aren’t long gone – ask Shawn, and he’ll tell you that those days still exist and he’s scarred for life because of it. But Henry always kisses her slowly and softly, telling her without words how amazing she is and how much he loves her. His kisses bring her home, and she sighs contentedly, wrapping her free arm around his neck.

 

He pulls away after a moment, turning his attention back to the grill. It’s for the best, she supposes. If he spent too much time staring at her, the food will either burn or the house will catch fire. Depending.

 

Maddy pushes away from the side of the house and leans against the porch railing. “You know, it feels weird to be engaged again. Or at least, to have an engagement ring on my finger.” She holds up her hand, watching how the single diamond catches the light and glimmers. It reminds her somewhat of the ocean.

 

Henry glances up from the grill. “No one ever asked you while we were separated?”

 

Maddy laughs and tosses her hair over her shoulder. “Oh, people asked.” At Henry’s look of surprise, her face softens. “William asked,” she amends. “It’s one of the reasons we broke up. I said no, he got mad, booked a plane to Vienna, and broke it off with me there.” She reaches for Henry’s hand. “He wanted to spend the rest of his life with me – or so he assumed – but I couldn’t spend the rest of my life with him. I swore to grow old with you, Henry, and only you.”

 

Henry smiles softly and kisses the back of her hand. “Well, I’m just glad that you said yes to me  _ twice _ and no to William. That makes me feel better about myself.” He chuckles to himself. “Hehe, you like me better than William.”

 

She rolls her eyes. “Are you a child?”

 

He grins innocently at her. “No, why do you ask?”

 

“Come here, you idiot. I want to kiss you.”

 

The garage door opens, and Henry steps away, flipping the patties to the other side. Juliet leads Shawn out of the house, a can of pineapple juice in his hand.

 

Shawn looks back and forth between his parents. Maddy knows they both are anxious for his response, and she reaches behind her and squeezes Henry’s hand.

 

Shawn sighs. “Yes, Jules and I will go on a double date with you. As long as there is no sexy times between the two of you.” He squeezes his eyes shut and shudders. “That was awful enough the one time.”

 

Maddy and Henry both nod. “Can you set the table, Shawn? Dinner should be ready soon.”

 

As Shawn and Juliet walk off to set the table, Maddy glances over her shoulder and steps back. “Should we tell him about the time he walked in on us when he was a toddler?”

 

Henry shakes his head rapidly. “That time scarred me, not him. You were no help to me! You just laughed while I tried to get him to leave.”

 

Maddy places her hand on the small of Henry’s back and stands on her tiptoes, letting her breath brush against his ear. “So…what you’re saying is we  _ shouldn’t _ tell him this is not the first time he’s walked in on us?”

 

*

 

“Jules, come on, we’re going to be la–” Shawn stops short when Jules turns around, sticking in her left earring. His eyes travel over her body: her slightly curled hair, her cutoff denim shorts, and her Freddie Mercury tank top. He clears his throat. “I never knew you had that shirt.”

 

She grins at him and pecks his lips on her way out of the bathroom. “Well, usually if I’m wearing an 80s band shirt, I’m wearing one of yours. But seeing as how Queen is playing, I need to represent my favorite band.”

 

Shawn trails after her, picking up his leather jacket. “Wait,  _ Queen _ Queen? Or is it just random people playing Queen songs?”

 

Juliet purses her lips. “It’s the actual band. Minus Freddie Mercury, obviously.”

 

“Obviously,” Shawn echoes. He glances at the front door. “Are we taking my bike or your car?” he asks, shrugging on his leather jacket.

 

It’s her turn to study him, in his faded Bon Jovi t-shirt, washed out jeans, and leather jacket. “Shawn?”

 

“Yeah, hon?”

 

She grips his leather jacket in both hands and rocks up onto her tiptoes. “You look hot.”

 

He smirks at her, the smile that always makes her knees weak. Really, it’s not fair that he can just look at her like that and turn her into mush with just a smile. “It is a bit warm right now, I suppose…”

 

She smacks his shoulder. “No, not like  _ that.” _ She presses her lips to his, tasting the pineapple that still lingers on his tongue.

 

Shawn hums. “You know that’s right.” He cracks one eye open and glances at his watch. “Jules, we’re late.”

 

She presses kisses to his neck. “We can be late.”

 

“Not to this, we can’t. We’ll resume this later, but I need to watch Bon Jovi and listen to a hundred other 80s classics live. This opportunity doesn’t come around all that often.” He lets out a small sigh when Jules sucks on the spot where his neck meets his collarbone. “Jules, my parents arranged this.”

 

Juliet steps back, a small pout on her face. “Promise that we’ll pick this right back up?”

 

He kisses her once more. “I swear on my life.”

 

*

 

When Shawn was a kid, Maddy played the radio at full blast every day as long as she was at home. She fell in love with Queen, Bon Jovi, Journey, the Rolling Stones, and Michael Jackson. Many times, Henry walked in from work to find her dancing with Shawn in the living room to any of the aforementioned bands.

 

Henry likes music just fine. After Maddy left and Shawn ran away, Henry often sat in silence, broken only by the news or various sports stations. Occasionally, when he missed them so badly his heart ached, he would turn the radio station to 80s music and imagined them dancing in the living room, just like they always used to. When 9/11 hit, he tried to do the same thing, at least until a call got through and he knew whether or not his family was alive. The radio stations only reported the attacks.

 

Regardless, he’s all decked out in his Guns-’N-Roses t-shirt, faded jeans, and boots. He twirls his keys around his index finger while he waits for Maddy to descend the stairs. As it stands, the festival will have already started by the time they get there.

 

Maddy comes running down the stairs. “I’m coming, I’m coming!” She glances at her watch. “Ohhhh, we’re going to be late!”

 

Henry blinks. Maddy, even though she’s only wearing a Journey shirt and jeans, is the picture of beauty. For the first time in years, she’s pulled her hair back, but one of his caps is tucked into the back pocket of her jeans, ready for immediate use upon reaching the park.

 

She breezes past him and grins. “Close your mouth, Henry, you are not a codfish.”

 

He licks his lips and follows her out the door. “You took that line from Mary Poppins.”

 

She tugs at her braid. “Maybe, maybe not, but you were just gaping at me.” She glances over her shoulder. “Do I still have the effect of making your brain not work when you’re around me?”

 

Henry shakes his head and climbs into the cab of the truck. “Mad, you will literally always have that effect on me. I’ll be 90 years old, in a nursing home, and my brain is just going to short-circuit because you will be the most beautiful woman there.”

 

Maddy holds a hand up to her chest. “I’m touched.” As she buckles her seatbelt, she looks over at him. “Remember, you have to give beer a break. Doctor’s orders.”

 

He groans and backs out of the driveway. “Damn doctor doesn’t know anything,” he mutters.

 

Maddy quirks an eyebrow. “Oh? He went to four years of medical school and another four years of medical training to not know anything?”

 

“Don’t do that to me.”

 

“You were the one who got shot. In my defense.” She reaches for his free hand and squeezes it. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

 

Henry’s face softens, and he brings her hand to his lips. “I’m okay,” he says softly. “As long as I’m with you, I’m okay.”

 

*

 

They’re more than used to the sweltering heat that comes with Santa Barbara. Many people who bought tickets to this event are not as used to it. Idly, Shawn wonders how and why his dad managed to procure four tickets to the festival several months in advance, but he’s too busy shouting along to “Piano Man” to really care. Jules leans back into his chest, his leather jacket keeping her arms warm.

 

His bottle of beer sloshes, alcohol pouring out onto the grass. He shrugs, ignorant of the fact, knowing that animals will lick at that patch of grass later. Jules tilts her head up to look at him, and her face, though shiny with sweat, is vibrant, and he can’t possibly resist capturing her lips in his.

 

His Bon Jovi shirt sticks to his back, and his scar shows through, but none of that matters because he has Jules. She’s perfect and marvelous and beautiful, and just being around her is intoxicating. Her perfume, though weakened by sweat, is more intoxicating than the alcohol in his hand. Her smile, though a bit tired and certainly a result of her being tipsy, makes him more drunk than all the beer at the park tonight.

 

Shawn glances away from Jules and towards his father while there’s a lull in the music. His father catches his eye and nods once, as if to tell Shawn to go ahead and ask her. Not right now, not when the both of them have been drinking, but soon. The ring is his now, and it’s soon to be Juliet’s.

 

*

 

Since Henry can’t have beer, Maddy has decided not to drink, either. Truly, it’s for the best, considering that her alcohol tolerance is lower than that of a teenager’s.

 

Henry wraps his arms around his wife (technically, fiancée, but he’s heard it both ways) and pulls her back into his chest. She sways with the music, her damp hair now covered with his baseball cap, and she hums with the song.

 

God, he loves her. He can’t believe there was ever a day in his life where he even considered letting her go. He can’t believe that he let her slip through his fingers, and everything he knows is telling him that he should not have had this second chance at love, that this is wrong, but he knows: he’s lucky. He’s lucky as hell. He does not deserve this second chance at love with the only woman he has ever loved, but this love story, mapped out some forty years ago? It isn’t wrong. The love he and Maddy shared was never wrong.

 

She wraps her hands around his wrists and rests her head against his shoulder. “I love you,” she says, and the music should drown it out, but this quiet declaration of love is louder than all of the bands put together, and it is the only thing Henry hears.

 

He presses a kiss to her head and rests his cheek against her hair. “I love you, too.” He looks out at the band dancing around on stage, and he shakes his head with laughter. “I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve this second chance with you. I’m damn lucky.”

 

Maddy hums and kisses him once. “Well, if you’re damn lucky, then I’m just as damn lucky to have you.”

 

*

 

Henry and Juliet are not nearly as fond of 80s music as Maddy and Shawn are, but as the last band plays, they catch each other’s eye and smile. To see their loved ones dancing around, having the time of their lives…it’s a breath of fresh air, a reprieve from the demands of life. They share in this moment, knowing that the loves of their lives are with them, now and forever.

 

All it took was one 80s music festival.

**Author's Note:**

> Like it, love it, hate it? Leave a comment below or go to my tumblr, @ my-glasses-are-dirty, and tell me what you think!!


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